Sensorineural hearing loss and how it affects understanding speech
Official title: Effects of Sensorineural Hearing Loss on Robust Speech Coding
Funded at Purdue University · NIH-11334302 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project explores why people with similar hearing loss have different abilities to understand speech, especially in noisy places, and aims to uncover the brain and ear mechanisms behind these differences.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Purdue University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (West Lafayette, United States) |
| Project start | July 18, 2009 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $626,832 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DC009838-14 |
| Project ID | NIH-11334302 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are individuals with sensorineural hearing loss who experience difficulties understanding speech in noisy environments and are willing to participate in auditory research.
✕Less likely to help
Individuals without hearing loss or those not experiencing speech-in-noise difficulties may not directly benefit from this research.
What this research studies
If you have sensorineural hearing loss, your experience with hearing and understanding speech can vary a lot from person to person. Researchers will study how signals are processed in the inner ear and brain, looking at how different types of ear cell dysfunction influence speech-in-noise understanding. The work focuses on how timing and spectral cues are coded in the auditory system and what that means for real-world listening. By examining modulation coding and source segregation, the team hopes to identify why some people struggle more than others and what might improve communication in noisy settings.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Understanding these mechanisms could lead to better diagnostic tests and targeted therapies to improve speech understanding for people with SNHL.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies have shown that modulation coding and speech-in-noise performance are linked, but the exact mechanisms remain debated and require further investigation.
Where this research is happening
-
Purdue University
West Lafayette, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Heinz, Michael G — Purdue University
- Study coordinator: Heinz, Michael G
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Understanding Hearing Loss and Speech in Noisy Environments
This project aims to understand why some people with hearing loss find it harder to understand speech, especially in noisy places.
-
Understanding why phantom sounds and intolerance to sounds happen after hearing loss
This grant investigates why some adults with hearing loss experience tinnitus, hyperacusis, and trouble ignoring background noise, and how brain changes relate to these symptoms.
-
Biomarkers linked to cochlear nerve damage in adults with sensorineural hearing loss
A project to find biological markers of cochlear nerve damage and see how they relate to hearing problems like difficulty hearing in noise and tinnitus in adults with hearing loss.
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Cochlear nerve connections and hearing loss in human temporal bones
A large, patient-facing research effort analyzes how nerve connections in the inner ear deteriorate in people with sensorineural hearing loss by studying post-mortem human temporal bones.
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Cochlear nerve disease and how it affects hearing in models of hearing loss
This grant studies how damage to the nerves of the ear happens and how it affects hearing in noisy places, using animal models to inform future human therapies.
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Understanding why some people with hearing loss can’t understand speech in noise
This grant studies why some people with hearing loss can’t understand speech in noisy environments, even when they can hear it, to identify new ways to help them hear and understand better.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.